Floral display holder



y 5, 1964 R. D. SHELKER ETAL 3,131,897

FLORAL DISPLAY HOLDER Filed Jan. 25, 1960 IN VEN TORS RAYMOND D. SHELKER 8 JOHN R. LONG ATTORNEY about.

United States Patent 3,131,897 FLORAL DISPLAY HOLDER Raymond D. Shelker, 570 Lynn Drive, Cuyahoga Falls,

Ohio, and John R. Long, 651 Prentiss Ave., Akron 19,

Ohio

Filed Jan. 25, 1960, Ser. No. 4,421 1 Claim. (Cl. 248-273) in keeping the holder in position. These are generallyv magnetic. The holder is preferably made with a body of sponge rubber, the 'undersuriace of which is rough to prevent its sliding on the lid of a casket. Spines extend upwardly from the upper surtace of the holder, and these are preferably provided with protuberances which hold the display and prevent its unintentional dislodgement'. They are preferably anchored in the stifiening members.

The holder can be of any usual size and will, for example, measure about one toot or somewhat more in one direction; up to eighteen inches, tor example, in the other direction. It may be oval, round, square, or any desired shape. The rubber which forms the base of the holder may be out from a large sheet, but is preferablyindividually molded with the edges graduallybeveled to a knife edge, and the central portion A to. inch thick or there- The top surface may be roughened, as is the undersurtace, but is not essential althoughsuch rough ening assists in holding the display against dislodgment.

The magnet is preferably formed from magnetized iron filings distributed throughout a matrix of rubber or a vinyl or other plastic. If the matrix is formed of rubber, the rubber is vulcanized. This matrix may be relatively still, and it the magnets are-in the form of long, narrow strips they are advantageously relatively rigid so that when arranged lengthwise of the casket lid they. cause the holder to contorm to the shape of the lid whether it be gradually curved from one edge to the other, or be tormed with preoisely formed panels extending lengthwise of the lid. The bottom surface of such plastic magnets is free of sharp edges so that the magnets do not scratch the lid surface. If preferred, the magnets may be embedded in the holder,

7 and if is the case ordinary metal magnets may be employed. Instead of employing separate magnets, a peat or the whole undersurtace of the holder or even the entire.

body of the holder may have magnetized iron filings distributed through it.

The body of the holderis preferably made of rubber or other resilient plastic, and sponge rubber is advantageous- 3,131,897 Patented May 5, 1964 play is not localized. In a preferred construction the magnets are metal plastic strips containing filings, and the spines are screws with their heads anchored in these strips.

The invention be further described in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which FIG. 1 is a view in perspective of a casket with a floraldisplay holder lying on it;

, FIG. 2 is a top view of the holder;

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the holder;

4 FIG. 4 is a section, somewhat enlarged, on the centerline 4-4 of FIG. 2; and l FIG. 5 is a section, greatly enlarged, on the line 5-5 of FIG. 2.

FIGURE 1 shows a casket 5 with a lid 6. This lid is preferably of steel. The top of the lid is gradually curved from one side to the other. On it is the holder 9. The body of this holder is composed of sponge rubber and, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the edges gradually taper to a knife edge 10.

'FIGURE 5 is an enlarged detail which shows the bottom and top suriaces of the sponge rubber body as being roughened, as by a herringbone or other design in which certain small areas stand outtrom the main body of the holder. FIGURE 5 illustrates the roughness of the sponge-rubber surfaces without illustrating any particular design.

The drawings show three magnets 13, 14 and 15 which are spaced parallel to one another and extend lengthwise in narrow openings 11 6 (FIG. 5) in the bottom surfiace of the body of the holder. They are t'astened in place by the adhesive 17 which, the magnets are cured rubber strips containing magnetized iron filings, can be a rubber cement, either vulcanized or unvulcanized. Other suitable adhesives are known to those skilled in the art.

The spines 20 preferably extend about one inch (more orless) above the top surface of the body of the holder. In the drawings they are threaded screw shanks. The screws are inserted through openings 21 in the magnets and held by their heads 22 which are countersunk into the undersuriiaces of the magnets. Being countersunk,

. there is no possibility of their scratching the surface of the casket lid on which the holder is placed. The shanks 20 extend through the spongerubber body of the holder, preferably in preformed openings. The gaskets 2.5 are then slipped over the shanks and then the self-threading gasketed nuts 26 are threaded down over the shanks until their gasket portions which are the same size as the gaskets 25, press the gaskets 25 into the surface of the spongerubber body. Any such suitable means may be employed for holding the screws in place.

The magnets 13, 14 and 15 are of a resilient composition and cannot scratch the lid. They are wide enough to maintain the shanks 20 of the screws in an upright position. Of course, when the holder is rounded somewhat to conform to the shape of the lid of a casket, the shanks located in the sides of the holder will not be perpendicular, but be slanted slightly outwardly. The drawings illustrate an advantageous arrangement of the screws in elongated magnets, but it is to be understood that other arrangements may be employed.

The invention is covered in the claim which follows.

What we claim is:

A holder tor a casket floral display which comprises a drapable sponge suhher cover with elongated depmessions in the undersurface, resilient plastic strips in said depressions, "with magnetized particles distributed in said strips,

and a plurality of screws with their heads IW'lIthiIl. the confi-nes of the strips and extending from the ships and 5 through the sponge-rubber oover with most of the thIeaded shank of each exposed shove the sponge-ruhber cover, nuts threaded onto the threaded shanks into contact with the sponge rub'her cover to hold the stnips in the depressions, said threaded shanks being adapted to hold a floral 10 display against unintentional displacement.

, UNITED STATES PATENTS 

